Of Firelight and Story Night
by o0odreamypoet
Summary: Red, gold, and white flames swayed from side to side. The shadows danced across the white sand as the fire rose and fell. “Throw this stick into the fire for each story you tell so the flames will be nourished and alive and well,” he whispered.
1. Prologue

_**Of Firelight and Story Night**_

**Prologue**

_By: Monica_

Red, gold, and white flames swayed from side to side. The shadows danced across the white sand as the fire rose and fell. Logs were scattered around the firelight in a messy order. Witches and wizards from the Dark and the Light sat together, their faces hard and hatred forgotten. An old man who was standing near the crackling firelight, stroked his bread thoughtfully and picked up a handful of glowing sticks.

"Throw this stick into the fire for each story you tell so the flames will be nourished and alive and well," he whispered.

The old man picked up a glowing stick and threw it into the hot fire. The flames grew higher as sparks shot out.

"What do these flames do?" a girl asked.

The old man looked over at her with a twinkle in his eyes. "As long as these flames burn, there will and shall be peace between the two sides."

"And the sticks?" a boy questioned.

"These glowing sticks are sticks of fire. They are very rare and only found on this very island. Wizards and witches often take it with them if they're on an adventure or mission to a faraway land. All they have to do is start a small fire and throw theses sticks in to make bigger, warmer flames. Very useful these are…"

"I see…"

The old man looked and peered at everyone's faces. "Shall we begin?"

Witches and wizards from both Light and Dark glanced at each other. A mutual agreement was formed in seconds. They turned, looked at the old man, and nodded.

The elder seated himself on one of the logs and whispered, "Excellent…"


	2. Do You Trust Me?

_**Of Firelight and Story Night**_

**Do You Trust Me?**

_By: Monica_

Ginny looked around at everyone. Her red hair blew backwards in the cool, night breeze. The old man nodded towards her. She sighed and whispered, "A story I'll never forget…"

**--------------------------------------**

"Nice day…"

"I guess so…"

Ginny sighed dramatically at Harry's answer. Ever since summer started, Harry had been unhappy. He would sulk around the Number Twelve Grimmauld Place and occasionally throw fits of anger.

"And I thought girls were the ones with mood swings…" she mumbled to herself.

"What was that?"

"I did not say a word…"

"Oh…" and with that Harry stood up and walked away.

Ginny was about to pull all her crimson hair out. She couldn't understand Harry anymore. He was so…random these days. Yesterday, he was seen throwing a fit and shooting anyone who tried to talk to him dark glares. Now today he was in his depressed mood and didn't want to talk to anyone.

"Oh Harry…"

Ginny sighed and then shook her head. Pulling herself up, she went back inside. The Grimmauld Place was buzzing with noise. Ginny's mom was dashing everywhere with her wand. Tonight there would be an Order's meeting so Mrs. Weasley had to tidy the place up. Unfortunately for the poor lady, it wasn't that easy with Fred and George running around with their new prank, Explobles.

"FRED! GEORGE! If you don't stop right now, then I'll hex and curse you 'til you boys start to cry!" Molly roared.

George grinned a silly smile and blew a blue bubble. "We'll stop soon, mum. Are you not proud of us? We'll make more than Knuts out of this!"

The blue bubble exploded and blue goo flew everywhere, splattering the walls and paintings…and unfortunately, Mrs. Weasley. George licked his fingers and whipped out his wand. "Scourgify! Mum, the goo tastes good…you have to say that!"

Molly's cheeks turned red as she began to huff and puff. Fred and George laughed nervously and began to back away. They knew from experience what happened if you drove a Weasley, especially a Mother Weasley, over the edge of madness. "We got to go…"

Fred finished George's sentence, "Go fill out sheets for our shop!"

They both began to sprint upstairs but were stopped by a red beam of light whizzing past them.

"YOU TWO ARE FOOLS! STUPEFY! STUPEFY!"

"ARGH!"

"CRAP!"

Ginny watched amused as her mother began to walk slowly toward the twins with a menacing look on her face. The twins, who were lying on the floor side by side, were shooting their mother angelic smiles and pouts. "DON'T YOU GIVE ME THAT!"

Fred and George winced as their mother pointed her wand at them. "This will tell you boys not to mess with me!"

Ginny decided at that point to step in. "Wait mum! I got a trick that'll teach them once and for all not to mess with you…_or me!"_

Molly looked at her daughter suspiciously. "And tell me Virginia, what hex or spell will you use?"

Ginny's eyes sparkled in mischief. "I used this hex on Malfoy last year!"

Her mother's eyes flashed with worry. "Well Ginny, if you used it on Malfoy last year, I think this spell will be-"

Molly didn't get to finish her words for Ginny had already waved her wand, unleashing the Bat-Bogey Hex on the twins.

"GINNNNNNYYYYYYY!"

"YOU BAD WITCH!"

Ginny laughed and jumped up and down in delight as bogies began to grow all over Fred's and George's face. Seconds later, the bogies turned into bat-like bogies and began to attack. Molly rubbed her eyes and sighed. Sometimes she wondered why she wanted many kids. Molly looked down at her twins who were screaming for Ginny to release the spell. She shook her head and just walked to the kitchen leaving a hysterical Ginny and a pair of Bat-Bogey Hexed twins. Luckily for Fred and George, Hermione had come down to see who was causing the entire racket downstairs. "I CAN'T READ A BOOK THANKS TO YOU ALL!" she bellowed after she released the twins from the hex. Fred and George smiled sheepishly at her and then ran upstairs while Ginny darted into the kitchen. "Weasleys…" Hermione muttered, climbing the stairs.

Yes, it was definitely a typical, loud afternoon.

**------ **

However, that night was quite different. The atmosphere of the old house was tense, and many older wizards and witches of the Order were running around. Molly stood by the door often, waiting for another member to come knocking on the door. The Golden Trio along with Ginny sat hidden on the stairs, whispering quietly.

"There goes Snape…still don't know why he's in the Order…the git-OW!"

"Ron!" Hermione hissed.

Ron growled as he rubbed his red arm.

"Shhh…look, there's McGonagall with Lupin," Harry pointed out.

"OW!" Ginny exclaimed, rubbing her back.

Fred and George looked down at the teenagers that they bumped into. "Well, well…looks like we have some kids who want to spy on the Order, eh Fred?" George questioned, grinning.

"Yah George…what should we do? Scream?" Fred suggested. Both of them began to laugh quietly.

Ginny's eyes narrowed. "Scream and I'll put the Bad-Bogey Hex on you two!"

Fred and George's laughter ceased immediately from the afternoon memory. They grunted and pulled out something from their pockets; Extendable Ears. "Use it well!" George grunted. Ginny smiled at her brothers as they walked off. "Let's go!" Ginny exclaimed.

After testing and getting the device to work, the trio and Ginny sat near the door of the kitchen, listening intently through the extendable ears. They could only hear bits of the conversation, but it was good enough.

"Yes, he will be with us."

"-proved that he can be…"

"Trust? Psh!"

"-true…"

"-closed! Blaise, you can go to your room now."

Ginny and the trio gasped and scrambled away from the door toward their bedrooms. They immediately closed their bedroom doors and jumped into the beds. A couple minutes passed and then the house became silent. Ginny turned and tossed on her bed for a while before looking over at Hermione. She frowned when she saw that her best friend was asleep. The thought of Blaise, Blaise Zabini, a Slytherin, sleeping in the Order's house was quite disturbing to her. She didn't know whether he was trustworthy or worse than Malfoy. Blaise had always been the mysterious character at school. He was only known to be Malfoy's trusted friend. Ginny whimpered slightly; she had a feeling that something was going to change around here because of him. Whether the change was positive or negative, she didn't know. She turned, laid on her back, and closed her eyes, trying to get some sleep.

**----- **

A small scream awoke Ginny Weasley from her dreamless slumber. She turned over to see Hermione getting up quickly and scurrying off. Ginny hurriedly got up and ran to the room where the scream came from. There was a small group of people huddled around a bed. Ginny pushed her way through until she reached the center. She blinked as she saw Blaise sitting on the bed with an angry frown on his face.

"I TOLD you all to GET OUT! I'm fine! I'm not Potter for Merlin's sake!" Blaise bellowed.

Harry's eyes flashed as he gritted his teeth. Hermione and Ron put a comforting hand on his shoulders to restrain him from attacking. Dumbledore nodded slightly; there was a look of worry in his eyes. Molly started to wave the people out of the room. Ginny however, stayed. Dumbledore looked at her curiously but decided to not ask. He exited the room with a flourish of his robes. Blaise peered at Ginny and then coldly asked, "Why are you still here Weasley? Did I not just tell all of you to get out?"

Ginny flushed slightly but bravely replied, "You can tell me about your dream you know…I won't tell a soul…"

Blaise's eyebrows rose. "And how will I know that you will keep your vow?"

Ginny thought for a moment before saying, "At times, you need to trust folks even if you don't know him or her well. To trust strangers means to trust your sense and heart. Do you trust me?"

Blaise snorted. "You think that Slytherins have a heart? What a shock Weasley. Well, I don't trust red heads."

"You're just saying what your mind is telling you to say. Say what your heart wants to say." Ginny stated clearly.

Blaise glared at her and hissed, "Get out!"

Ginny glared back and muttered coldly, "We think Slytherins have no heart for they're too weak and scared to open up and let us care for them!" She then turned and headed for the door.

Blaise grabbed her wrist tightly and pulled her back around. "You don't know a thing Weasley! ZILCH!"

Her eyes hardened and then softened slowly. "I can know if you just drop your pride and tell me…"

Blaise dropped her wrist and buried his head in his arms. "You don't know a thing…how's it like to be the son of deatheaters…the strain from the dark lord…and now…now I'm being a traitor…a traitor to the one thing I believed in…a traitor to my kind…though there's a moment where fear and dreams must collide."

He shuddered and closed his eyes. Ginny hesitantly put an arm around his shoulders. It shook slightly from the contact but then relaxed. After an awkward moment of silence, Blaise slowly leaned in closer to the redhead's warm arms. "I'll be here to listen…" Ginny whispered before drifting off to sleep.

**------ **

Ginny awoke the next morning with a letter next to her. Yawning, she unrolled it and read it silently.

_Saying thank you is harder than writing it_

_B.Z._

The letter was short and wasn't signed with sincerely or love, but it meant the world to Ginny anyways. She got up and skipped downstairs. Ginny had accomplished something not many people can; getting a dark, cold-hearted Slytherin to open up. She passed Hermione and flashed a huge smile.

Hermione looked at her quizzically before asking, "Why so glad Ginny?"

Ginny skipped off and shouted, "Just some thing!"

Turning a corner, she crashed into someone and fell down. Her eyes met crystal blue ones, "Blaise!" Ginny exclaimed, surprised.

Blaise pushed himself up and helped Ginny off the floor. "Hello Weasley," he said in an odd tone. They both smiled shyly at each other and walked away in the opposite direction.

**------ **

Stars twinkled and sparkled next to the glowing moon. Ginny took in the fresh, night air while sitting on a log outside. She couldn't help but feel butterflies in her stomach every time she thought of Blaise. He made her feel…useful; not useful in a slave way, but useful in a friend and listener way. She didn't feel that way around her brothers or the Golden Trio a lot.

A noise startled her from behind. She jumped and twirled around, drawing her wand and pointing it to the darkness. "Who's there?"

"Calm down Weasley…" Blaise said as he came out of the darkness.

Ginny let out a sigh and put her wand down. "_What's Blaise doing out so late?"_ she thought suspiciously before saying, "You scared me…"

"Of course," Blaise stated, grinning. He then walked over to the tall, brick wall and began to run his hands over it. Ginny walked over to him with a curious look in her eye. "What must you rub this wall?"

"I need to see if this wall can be climbed."

Ginny gapped at him. "What!"

Blaise turned to stare at her. "Do you Weasleys have bad ears? I said-"

"I heard what you said!" Ginny snapped. "But what do you mean by climb? Are you going to climb over this wall?"

"Yes Weasley…is that bad to you?"

Ginny's face turned an ugly shade of red. "YES!" she screamed. "Why must you leave? We can't trust you at all! You just lied to Dumbledore so you can get clues to tell your lord!"

Blaise leaned over and placed a small, chaste kiss on her cheek. "Do you trust me?"

Ginny blinked as she remembered how she had asked him that same question. "How can I-"

"At times, you need to trust folks even if you don't know him or her well. To trust strangers means to trust your sense and heart. Do you trust me?" Blaise interrupted, his eyes glittering in the dark. He smirked at her as she started to fume.

"_He's using my own words against me…" _Ginny glared at him but whispered, "I-I guess I do…"

Blaise smirked again and began to climb the wall. "If you trust me, then you'll know that I'll come back in two weeks, four days, nine hours, and forty seven and one-half minutes, and I'm not a spy. You'll work out what I'm doing. You always have ways…Ginny." He winked at her and jumped over the wall, his black robes swishing behind him in the wind.

Ginny looked back up at the moonlit sky, laughing silently at how he exaggerated the time. Brushing her fingers against her cheek, she smiled. "I do trust you Blaise…I do…"

**------------------------------**

A chuckle came from a man sitting on one of the logs. Ginny opened her eyes and stared at the young adult with black hair and sky-blue eyes. He stared back at her, eyes twinkling. Then he winked at her causing Ginny to blush. The old man noticed the exchange between the two young adults and smiled. Already, friendships and stronger bonds were forming between both sides. He was proud that the young Weasley had made a truce with the mysterious, quiet Slytherin.

The old man grabbed a stick and handed it to Ginny. She stared at the stick for a while, marveling at its warmth and beauty. Then she closed her eyes and threw it into the fire.

The flames grew higher; almost over their heads. Witches and wizards glanced nervously at each other, wondering who would be next to tell a tale.

**------------------------------**

**Author's Note: **This will be a series of short stories if you haven't guessed yet. These short stories will involve different pairings and characters. If you do not agree with a certain pairing that I wrote, do not flame please. These stories I wrote were based on the topics I received in writing contests. This one had these requirements:

Dialogue in one-syllable words only

Story setting in the summer

Romance

Thanks to these people who were kind enough to review the prologue out of the 30 people who came to this fan fiction: Junesky, LucidRose, Slick92, and Ariana the musical genius.

_Until next time,_

Monica


	3. The Aftermath

_**Of Firelight and Story Night**_

**The Aftermath**

_By: Monica_

"Harry…" the old man whispered. "Why don't you tell a tale…"

All eyes turned towards him. Harry licked his lips nervously and stared at everyone. "I-I had a dream…a couple nights ago on how…how this war would end…"

Draco and Hermione looked at him curiously. "Get on with it Potter."

Harry sent a glare his way as the old man sighed in despair. _"When will those two ever cooperate?"_ he thought.

"My dream started like this…"

**-------------------------------------------**

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. I watched with disbelief, and yet triumph in my eyes as Voldemort's body began to slowly break to pieces. Time seemed to stand still as his body burned to dust. I let out a breath as the whole process stopped. A cool breeze flowed by, blowing the dust away. I dropped silently to the ground and buried my head in my arms. "It's over…" I whispered to myself. "Finally over…the whole war."

I heard cries in the background, but I couldn't make out the emotion of the cries. Were they happy that the war was finally over or were those cries cries of grief? I pushed myself off the dirty ground and forced myself to go see my friends. Slowly I walked in a daze toward a patch of red hair. I saw my friend, Hermione, as I approached the hair. I choked at what I saw. Hermione looked up in surprise. I nearly gasped at the sight of her face. There were blood-crusted gashes on her face, but the thing that scared me the most were her eyes. They were a shade of a dark, haunting brown, no longer the glowing chocolate color. It seemed to show a broken soul trying to hang on. I tore my eyes away from her face and crouched down near Ron's body. Hermione let out a heartbreaking sob beside me. I whimpered as I examined my best friend's face. His mouth had dropped opened in shock and his eyes were as huge as saucers. I knew that he had been hit directly with the Avada Kedavra curse.

"I-I saw him die Harry…"

I glanced at Hermione's face which was wet with tears. I didn't know what to say. I probably would've killed myself by now if I saw one of my best friends die before my eyes.

"Oh Harry…I don't think I can live with the memory…I see everyone dying…everyone dead!" she exclaimed.

I looked blankly at Ron's body. "I-I honestly don't know what to say…Ron's dead." The impact of those words hit me slowly. "Ron's dead…never coming back…" I let out a grieving moan and closed my heavy-lidded eyes. I couldn't believe it. My first best friend in the whole would was dead…and he would never come back. I would never get to see his friendly smile and hear his cheery laughter. I realized with fury that I had lost a brother because of this foolish war. I got up angrily and strode away from Hermione.

I walked across the battlefield slowly, seeing dead bodies of both Light and Dark scattered around. I stumbled and nearly tripped over a body in a black cloak. I looked down and gasped as I saw Draco Malfoy's face. I crouched down and touched his shoulder hesitantly. Immediately, I pulled out my wand as the body move. Malfoy let out a grunt and his eyes opened in pain. My eyes flashed in anger as I spotted the Darkmark burnt onto his wrist flesh. I raised my wand, ready to finish him off, but his voice stopped me.

"Going to kill me now Potter?" He rasped. "Go ahead…it be nice to end the pain anyways…got nothing left for me in this world."

I pointed my wand at his chest and glanced at my arch-rival's face. At that point, I knew I couldn't do it. I've already killed so many people during this stupid war…and I don't think I can end another one's life without leaving a scar on me. I've knew him ever since first year. I would be killing a classmate. I pocketed my wand and began to walk off, but his arms stopped me. It shot out and gripped my left leg tightly. I gritted my teeth and sent a glare towards him. I blinked in surprise at what I saw in his eyes; desperation and pain.

"Kill me Potter! I can't take the pain anymore. I be happy…much happier dead and somewhere else," he hissed with a plead in his eyes.

I gulped and stared down at him. "I can't Malfoy…I've killed too many."

Malfoy's eyes glittered. "Kill one more then Potter! I SAY KILL ME!"

"I can't!" I roared.

Malfoy's grip tightened on my pants. "Close your eyes and do it Potter for Merlin's sakes! I don't have a wand with me!"

I gulped and pulled out my wand. Closing my eyes, I whispered, "Avada Kedavra!"

Under my eyelids, I could see a flash of green light and then it was gone. I opened my eyes slowly to see a small smirk on Malfoy's face as he lay dead on the bloody grass. I felt bile begin to rise in my throat. I turned my head towards a clean patch of grass and threw up. I wiped my mouth when I was done and looked up at the darkening sky. I spotted another patch of red hair by an old, oak tree and groaned. "Please don't tell me one of Ron's other relative died…"

I crawled over to the body and collapsed near it as I realized who it was. "Ginny!" I moaned. I grabbed her light body and pulled it close. All the sudden, I heard a voice. "No-NO! Harry…don't tell me that's my little sister…I've already lost 2 brothers…"

I winced and slowly turned around to face George with a desperate look on his face. "I-I'm so sorry George…"

Like a hungry animal, George pushed me out of the way and hugged Ginny tightly, muttering words I couldn't understand. I couldn't blame him for pushing me out of the way. I probably would've done worse if it was me. I got up and walked away quietly with my stomach twisting. Slowly, I fell next to the lake and peered into it. This morning, the lake has been a clear, crystal blue. Now it was murky and coated with red, crimson blood. I choked as tears begin to form. Slowly they cascaded down my cheeks as I closed my eyes. War wasn't supposed to exist…it only brought more pain and grief. The ending of a war was supposed to be filled with happiness…so why is everyone feeling so miserable? Killing was horrible…but killing was part of the war. It didn't matter about being on the Light or the Dark because in the end, both sides end up murdering other people. I shuddered as I thought of kids and wives back home waiting for their fathers and husbands to come back. Good or bad…it didn't matter…we all still have a family we need to take care of.

I shuddered and muttered something before falling into a dreamless slumber. "I'll never forget this…forget the aftermath of this bloody war…"

**--------------------------------**

Everyone peered nervously each other. Was this dream going to become reality? The Dark side growled and shook their heads. They confidently thought they were going to win the war. Ginny whimpered and dropped her head into her arms as Ron gapped at Harry. Draco kept making movements to get up and strangle him, but Pansy kept holding him down. The Weasley clan stared at each other with white faces, wondering who the other brother that died was.

The old man peered at Harry anxiously. "Perhaps…perhaps it's the future…we can only dream now…"

**----------------------------------**

**Author's Note: **Ok so I posted another short story for Independence Day in America! Happy Fourth of July to all Americans reading this! So…sorry that the story was sad. Hehe…

Out of the 176 something people who came here, these people were nice enough to give a review: hbanana108, Amaranthine.Amour, Ariana the musical genius, Dear Me, and Anime4u2

**Personal Replies:**

Amaranthine.Amour – Good idea but I prefer not doing that so I leave you readers in suspense while you read! Also I updated a chapter on Under the Mask changed to It's Only the Beginning. You might've read it already

Anime4u2 – Hehe, Blaise will be next. I promise. Except it's a different pairing told through Blaise.

I hope to get more reviews! hands chocolate chip cookies to all those who reviewed My posting of chapters will be random!

_Until next time,_

_Monica_


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